


Peas in a Pod

by Idicted



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Hurt Spock (Star Trek), Hurt!Spock, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:41:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idicted/pseuds/Idicted
Summary: The Triumvirate keep each other alive after evacuating from the Enterprise.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Even though this was inspired by the evacuation scene in Beyond, I'm thinking of TOS while writing this, though we never saw any escape pods there...which is good because it allows me to take some liberties with their properties, ha!

 

 

Kirk was running, smoke filling his lungs and making his eyes water. Every muscle in his body protested against the strain, but time was of the essence if they wanted to make it out of this alive.

 

 _SELF-DESTRUCT IN NINE MINUTES_ , the computer announced in an infuriatingly clam voice.

 

Next to him, Spock was jogging along, apparently unaffected by the heat and smoke surrounding them. The two of them had stayed behind as everyone else had made their way to the escape pods as per Kirk’s orders, to key in the self-destruct sequence.

 

As they turned the corner to the nearest escape pod bay, the Enterprise was hit by another volley of phaser fire and the ship lurched under their feet throwing them off balance. As Kirk clambered back to his feet, he suddenly heard Spock shout a warning and was pushed unceremoniously out of the way of a falling bulkhead, narrowly escaping being crushed under its weight.

 

“Thanks, Spock,” he panted, his heart hammering in his chest. The Vulcan was already on his feet, offering Kirk a hand up.

 

“Shit, you’re bleeding,” Kirk remarked, looking at Spock’s outstretched arm. His uniform sleeve was torn to shreds and long nasty gashes down the side of his right arm were oozing green blood, an injury sustained from pieces of twisted metal sticking out from the fallen bulkhead.

 

“Superficial, captain,” Spock reassured him. “We should continue, otherwise we will have far more serious concerns than a few cuts and bruises.”

 

Kirk nodded. They turned towards the bay, walking along empty docking station after empty docking station. At the very end of the bay, there was a single one-man escape pod still docked to the ship. They looked at each other.

 

“Jim, you must take the pod and go,” Spock said without hesitation, but Kirk shook his head.

 

“No way, Spock. I’m not leaving you here. _You_ go. After all, a captain is supposed to go down with his ship, right?” he smiled sadly.

 

Spock raised an eyebrow. “I do not believe invoking an idiom from 20thcentury Earth maritime tradition has any logical applicability in the current situation, captain. You still have a responsibility towards the surviving crew now on the planet.”

 

“And I have a responsibility towards you, too, Spock,” Kirk shot back. “Fine. We go together or not at all. Let’s look for another pod in the next bay.

 

 _SELF-DESTRUCT IN SIX MINUTES_ , the computer supplied.

 

“Hurry, Spock!”

 

As they turned around to make their way down the dim corridor to the next bay, the Enterprise was hit once again, leaving them sprawled on the floor for the second time in a matter of minutes, debris raining down upon them. When Kirk sat up, trying to get his bearings, he saw that another bulkhead had crumbled, cutting off their way to the next escape pod bay.

 

“Fantastic,” he mumbled. “Now what?”

 

Spock tilted his head to the side. “We go back to the pod,” he stated.

 

“Spock, I already told you...”

 

“…together or not at all,” Spock interrupted him. “I am aware.”

 

***

 

McCoy was fumbling with the controls of his escape pod, cursing under his breath. He knew he was late to evacuate. He had stayed in the OR, trying to save the life of Lieutenant Summers who had been in Engineering when they were hit full force, causing shrapnel to pierce her lungs and liver. She hadn’t made it. McCoy had done everything he could but she had died on his table not 5 minutes ago.

 

He had been planning on taking her to the escape pods with him once she was out of immediate danger. The pods for evacuation from sickbay were designed to hold two individuals plus medical equipment. When she had died despite his best efforts, he had even briefly contemplated bringing her body to the pod, just so she could have a proper burial. But when the ship’s computer announced that there were now nine minutes to self-destruct he had abandoned the idea. Too many would find their last resting place in the cold void of space today. He didn’t like it, but he also did not want to be one of them.

 

The escape pod shuddered. _What is wrong with this damn thing_ , McCoy wondered when finally, the third time he had pressed the launch sequence, the pod shot out of its bay and towards the planet below.

 

***

 

It was a tight fit. Kirk and Spock were squeezed into an escape pod designed to hold only one person.

 

“Has this been tested for double occupancy?” Kirk asked as Spock started the ejection sequence.

 

“Unknown, captain,” the Vulcan replied as the pod lifted off. They shot away from the Enterprise with 4 minutes to spare until the ship would blow up.

 

Kirk looked down, melancholy and apprehension fighting for the upper hand in his chest. His gaze fell on the enemy ship, hovering nearby, still shooting at the Enterprise, apparently oblivious to the fact that her entire crew had left the ship by now. The other pods all ought to have landed on the planet already, he mused, directing his gaze towards their destination.

 

 _Not all pods, apparently_ , he realized. There was one pod drifting down just ahead of them. It was slightly larger than theirs and marked as a medical evacuation pod. It seemed to be veering off course though, moving erratically. At its current angle, Kirk realized, it would burn up in the atmosphere.

 

“Spock, look at that,” he pointed the pod out to his First Officer.

 

“Curious,” Spock commented. “The pod’s trajectory and speed are pre-programmed, this should not be happening. Whoever is inside will have to adjust the course manually.”

 

Kirk pressed their pod’s comm button. “Kirk to medical evac pod. You’re veering off course. Adjust your trajectory, please acknowledge.”

 

“Jim!” came a surprised voice over the comm link. _McCoy’s voice_. Kirk and Spock looked at each other, alarmed.

 

“Bones! What were you still doing on the ship?” Kirk asked, then, realizing they could discuss this later, added: “Never mind. Just correct your course before you enter the atmosphere!”

 

McCoy harrumphed. “I’m a doctor, not a pilot. Which one of these crazy button do I press?”

 

Spock raised an eyebrow. “Doctor McCoy, I will talk you through the manoeuvre. There is a lever to the very right of the control panel. Please ease it up slowly.”

 

“Spock! You’re there too?” McCoy was trying to move the lever. “Damn thing is stuck,” he grumbled. “I’ve been having problems with this pod from the very start.”

 

“Doctor,” Spock tone was urgent. “Are you able to cross-circuit the main switch and program the course using code?”

 

“Very damn funny, Spock. I’m a doctor, not a computer technician.”

 

“Bones…” Kirk intervened. “You will enter the atmosphere in three minutes. Spock, can’t you talk him through the override thing?”

 

Spock looked at Kirk apologetically. “I am sorry, doctor. While I could accomplish the override in approximately 1.4 minutes, I believe the time it will take to explain it to you will overstretch the available time window.”

 

“In other words, hobgoblin, you’re saying it was nice knowing me. Well, gentlemen, it was good to hear your voices one last time.”

 

“Spock,” Kirk urged anxiously. “Is there nothing we can do?”

 

Spock thought for a moment. “Perhaps there is, Jim.”

 

The Vulcan’s hands began to fly over the pod’s console at record speed.

 

“Hang on, Bones,” Kirk said excitedly. “Spock is doing something!”

 

“Well, he better do *something* quickly, or I will – whooooa!” McCoy suddenly felt the tingle of a transporter beam and Kirk simultaneously saw Spock disappear beside him. Seconds later, McCoy materialized in his place.

 

“What in the name of…? Spock! What did you do? Spock?” McCoy asked frantically.

 

“Calm yourself, doctor,” Spock’s voice sounded over the comm link. “I remotely connected to the Enterprise’s transporters and used simultaneous beaming to enable us to switch places. I will now attempt to address this pod’s malfunction.”

 

“Couldn’t you just have beamed me over here without putting yourself in that death trap?” McCoy ranted agitatedly. “That’s not what I meant when I said ‘do something’.”

 

“As you have probably become aware by now, doctor, the captain’s pod is not designed to hold more than one person, not to mention more than two. Now, if you would allow me to concentrate on the task at hand, please.”

 

“It _is_ damn tight in here”, McCoy mumbled. “Jim, did you know what he was up to?”

 

Kirk only shrugged helplessly.

 

At that moment, Kirk and McCoy were jolted forward and pressed against the control panel of the pod, the whole thing buckling and shivering violently.

 

 _The shock wave from the Enterprise exploding_ , Kirk realized. He briefly closed his eyes.

 

“She’s gone,” he whispered.

 

“Jim!” McCoy interrupted Kirk’s thoughts. “Spock’s pod!”

 

Kirk looked down to see the pod speeding towards the planet erratically, apparently riding the shock wave.

 

“Spock!” Kirk punched the comm button. “Spock, can you hear me?”

 

“Perfectly, captain,” Spock’s voice was strained but strong. “I incorporated the approaching shock wave into my calculations and used it to tip the pod into the correct angle for entering the atmosphere.”

 

McCoy breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“However,” Spock continued, “the pod’s malfunction appears to be more serious than I anticipated. Without a further external stimulus such as the wave, I am not sure I will be able to control…” –

 

The sound of a small explosion and flying sparks came over the speakers.

 

“Spock?” McCoy asked frantically. “Spock, can you hear us?”

 

There was no reply.

 

Kirk pressed his lips together. “It sounded like the control panel short-circuiting,” he remarked nervously.

 

They watched the pod descend further in front of them as the planet’s landscape came into view. They were above a mountain range with large jagged cliffs dropping away beneath them. Suddenly, they felt a lurch and their descent slowed.

 

“Our parachute’s unfolded,” Kirk said, panic clear in his voice, “but Spock’s still hasn’t even though he’s already closer to the ground than we were.”

 

McCoy swallowed hard. He bent forward to look for Spock’s pod even though he wasn’t sure he was ready to see what would happen to it. All he could see, however, was the pod disappearing behind a cliff, the parachute still nowhere to be seen.

 

***

 

Spock could see the ground coming closer and closer. If the parachute did not open in the next 11.2 seconds, his chances of survival were 4.7 %. However, even if the parachute did open, the chances improved only to 22.8%. In case of survival, there was a probability of serious injury of 98.4%. He decided the logical thing to do would be to strap himself firmly into his seat’s harness. This done, he decided the comforting thing to do would be to close his eyes. And so he welcomed darkness before it welcomed him.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Kirk and McCoy were walking in silence. They had landed on the planet 20 minutes ago and had immediately set off in the direction where Spock’s pod had gone down. Kirk kept trying his communicator, but so far he had been unable to raise anyone. He glumly wondered if this was due to the fact that none of his crew had survived, but when McCoy called his attention to large aluminium deposits present in the mountains surrounding them, Kirk’s mood began to lighten a little. At least, there was hope.

 

Regarding Spock, however, Kirk felt less than confident that they would find him alive, or find him at all for that matter. McCoy kept scanning for life signs but so far to no avail. This time, Kirk felt uncomfortably certain that this was not due to the aluminium deposits. Not even an hour ago, Spock had saved his life on the ship. Was he really dead now? Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself onwards. It was an arduous climb, the air was chilly and the sky clouded over.   

 

Occasionally, McCoy looked up from his tricorder to glance at Jim. The doctor wondered what weighed more heavily on his friend’s mind, the loss of this ship or of his First Officer. He didn’t expect to find Spock alive, but he at least needed to try, to be certain. After all, Spock had prevented McCoy from suffering the fate the doctor suspected had befallen the Vulcan. _It should have been me_ , McCoy thought gultily.

 

As the scaled the peak of the mountain they had been climbing, McCoy spotted something in the valley below.

 

“Jim, look!”

 

“The parachute!” Kirk’s heart beat faster. “Let’s go!”

 

***

McCoy was breathing heavily in the thin air. They had run the last few hundred metres towards white shape of the parachute and were now looking at each other apprehensively. The parachute partially covered the evacuation pod, obscuring its window and hatch. What was visible of it though was scratched, battered and badly dented where it had collided with the rock face.

 

The two men began to pull at the thick white cloth of the parachute, scared of what they might find but determined to find out as quickly as possible. They climbed onto the footboard below the pod’s hatch and peered inside.

 

Spock was still strapped to his seat, his head lolling to the side, eyes closed, skin pale, body limp. Images from a children’s tale flashed across McCoy’s mind. _Like Snow White in her casket_ , he thought, shuddering. _Snow White came back from the dead, right_?

 

Kirk was trying to open the pod with the standard override code, but the door wouldn’t budge. Finally, he opted for his phaser, taking out the lock. The pod opened with a soft hiss that punctured the eerie silence. McCoy was crouched next to Spock in an instant, looking for a pulse.

 

“Jim, he’s alive!” the doctor announced with delight and surprise, waving his medical scanner over the Vulcan. Looking at the scanner, McCoy’s expression changed.

 

“Bones,” Kirk prodded anxiously as the doctor pressed his lips together looking at the tricorder readings. “Bones, what is it?”

 

“He’s trapped, Jim,” McCoy announced looking down into the pod where warped metal met flesh. “It’s his leg. The weight of the crushed metal is cutting off his circulation right now, which is bad news, because he could lose the leg, but also good news because something’s nicked an artery there and once we get him out he is going to start bleeding like crazy.”

 

Kirk shivered, looking at Spock’s still face. “What do we do?” he whispered.

 

McCoy made a decision. “We need to cut him out of the seat – or the seat out of the pod. I don’t care which but we better be quick or he’ll loose that leg. Problem is, I don’t have any blood to transfuse him with so we’re gonna have to stop the bleeding as soon as possible once he’s out. I’m gonna need your help with that, got it?”

 

Kirk nodded. He was usually pretty confident even in life or death situations but this was Spock they were talking about. He took a deep breath and set to work on the pod’s seat with his phaser, slowly cutting through its base close to the pod’s floor.

 

“Almost there,” he told McCoy and the doctor loosened the harness around Spock’s torso, getting ready to catch the Vulcan once the seat would move. Kirk cut through the last couple of millimetres, grabbed the seat and removed it from under his friend, tossing it out of the pod’s hatch. He turned back and saw that McCoy had already lowered his patient onto the pod’s floor, green blood gushing from Spock’s left leg.

 

“Damn it,” McCoy cursed under his breath, trying to stem the flow with sterile gauze.

 

“Jim, get down here. Hold this.” McCoy had wound a long bandage around Spock’s left thigh and was now pulling it tight. Kirk pulled too and the flow of blood finally slowed. Kirk tried not to look at the wound or at McCoy working but concentrated on Spock’s face instead. His pale skin, the dark eyelashes throwing ghostly shadows onto his sharp cheekbones. _Come on, Spock_ , he though silently, _you can do this, come on_.

 

After a while McCoy sighed in relief and sat back.

 

“He will be alright, Jim. I stopped the bleeding. But he has a pretty bad head injury as well and he’s lost a lot of blood. McCoy carefully turned Spock’s head, exposing a large laceration down his left temple. The doctor expertly cleaned and dressed the wound, then turned to Kirk.

 

“We really need to keep him warm, Jim. See if you can get the pod’s life support systems to work.”

 

Kirk only noticed now that the life support was off. Cold air from outside had streamed in through the open hatch and he could see his breath crystallize in the air. He fumbled with the controls but to no avail.

 

“Must be due to the malfunction,” he speculated, “I can temporarily heat up the walls of the pod with the phaser, but the heat won’t last long.” He looked at McCoy uncertainly; the doctor was running his hands over his face, worry clearly visible in his eyes.

 

“He’s going to get hypothermic really quickly, Jim,” McCoy explained. “We just saved him. I don’t want to lose him like this.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Captain Rana Eid of the USS Helix sighed as she signed the report to Starfleet Command. Rescue missions were never easy, but this one had been particularly taxing – and if it was up to her, it was not over yet.

 

The Helix had received the Enterprise’s distress call two days ago but had been ordered by Starfleet Command to wait for backup because the message had contained details of an attack by an unknown enemy ship which had damaged the Enterprise so badly that her captain had ordered his crew to abandon ship and had engaged the self-destruct.

 

It had taken the backup two days to arrive and the small fleet of three ships all together another two to reach the last known coordinates of the Enterprise, so that they arrived six days after the events that had turned the best ship in the fleet into a pile of debris forming rings around the planet down on which Captain Eid had begun the search for survivors.

 

Starfleet escape pods were stocked with supplies that were meant to last three days. Eid knew this could be stretched to six if necessary, but nevertheless, it would be better to find the surviving crew sooner rather than later – the planet was inhabitable, but the climate was harsh – cold to the point of freezing.

 

The Helix’s scanners and those of the other two ships had shown no life signs and for a brief moment, Eid had assumed the worst before her science officer pointed out that their readings might not be reliable due to large aluminium deposits on the planet below.

 

So Eid had sent out search parties by shuttle who after only two hours had found the tired but still disciplined crew of the Enterprise under the command of the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, who had informed her that all crewmen who had survived the initial attack by the enemy ship were accounted for, save for one Lieutenant Summers, and – Eid’s heart sank at the mention of the other names – Chief Medical Officer McCoy, First Officer Spock, and Captain Kirk.

 

Now Eid was glad she had the help of two more ships because the Helix alone could not have accommodated the over 400 survivors. Even as it was now, three people had to share quarters designed for one person. Eid had even made room in her own quarters, sharing them with the Enterprise’s communications officer, while Scott, Sulu and Chekov shared the quarters next to hers.

 

The bridge crew of the Enterprise had insisted on staying together and on the Helix staying behind to continue the search for the missing officers while the other two ships made for the nearest Starbase. Eid had been only too happy to comply – she wanted to find Kirk and the others as much as their shipmates but dreaded Starfleet Command’s next orders.

 

A beep on her messaging board interrupted her thoughts. _Speak of the devil_ , she thought, seeing the Starfleet Command seal. She opened the message and sat back heavily in her chair. 12 more hours and then they were to abandon the search. The area was judged too dangerous to remain there. She had better tell Mr Scott. The man was not going to be happy.

 

***

 

Spock opened his eyes to total darkness. No, not total, he realized. Through the escape pod’s window he could see stars in the sky above. Becoming more attuned to his surroundings, he noticed that it was cold and his leg throbbed painfully. He turned his head to his right and saw the face of Dr McCoy close by, his eyes closed, apparently asleep. Spock noticed now that the doctor had his hand on his wrist, as if he had been feeling his pulse. To his left, there was Jim, also asleep, and snuggled up close to Spock. The Vulcan tried to clear his head to understand what had happened. How long had they been here? How long had he been unconscious?

 

“Jim?” Spock asked, his voice hoarse. “Jim! Doctor?”

 

There was no reply. Spock took McCoy’s hand which was still resting on his wrist and felt _his_ pulse. It was slow, sluggish. He groped for Jim’s hand and found him in the same condition. Both of his friends’ hands were ice cold. Spock was cold too but realized that his friends had kept him alive with their body heat, keeping him safe between them, while slowly becoming hypothermic in their more exposed positions.

 

Spock tried to think logically. The fact that it was cold meant that the pod’s environmental controls were not working. The fact that they had not been rescued either meant that there was no one to rescue them, or that they simply had not been found. Seeing as they had sent off a distress call before self-destructing, and seeing as there should be other survivors on the planet, the latter option seemed more probable.

 

Suddenly, he had an idea. Even if the environmental controls were not working, the zestos particles normally used to warm escape pods, shuttles and even starships as large as the Enterprise must still be present in the insulation layer of the pod’s hull. Indeed, they were probably a contributing factor to the three of them still being alive. _Zestos particles react with oxygen_. Unsure at this point whether he was acting out of logic or desperation, Spock grabbed the phaser attached to Kirk’s waist and fired at the pod’s hull. Nothing happened. _The reaction is invisible to the naked eye_ , Spock had to remind himself, _but it is certain to register on any sensors_. Cold air was now rushing inside the pod through the hole he had created in its hull. He looked at his unconscious friends, hoping that he had not just made the situation worse than it had been.

 

He struggled to his feet, grabbing one of their blankets and hobbled over to the hole in the hull, his face contorted in pain as he put weight on his injured leg. He stuffed the blanket inside the hole and limped back to the others, collapsing beside them in a heap. The last thing he managed to do before passing out was to wrap the remaining blankets more tightly around Jim’s and McCoy’s bodies.

 

***

 

Hiraku Sulu was piloting one of the Helix’s shuttles over the planet he had escaped from only a day ago, making for the mountains west of where his and the others’ pods had landed. Chekov had calculated a possible search radius based on the time delay in the captain’s evacuation and the subsequent rotation of the planet. Needless to say, it was a large area they were looking at and they now had only an hour until the search would have to be called off. Next to Sulu was Scotty, trying to boost the shuttle’s scanners, Chekov behind him, monitoring the results and cursing in Russian about the wealth of aluminium on the planet. Uhura was switching frequencies on the comm channels, listening for any sign of life. They were all concentrated on their tasks but the mood in the shuttle was subdued.

 

 Suddenly, Chekov let put a yelp, pointing at his readouts. “Боже мой! Mr Scott! Did you see that?”

 

“Aye, laddie!” Scott nodded excitedly. “A burst of zestos particles. T’was but a moment but strong enough to register on the scanners even through all of this interference. Let’s go check it out, Sulu.”

 

***

 

When Spock awoke for the second time, he immediately had a sense of déjà vu. It was pitch dark and two bodies were lying next to him. Slowly, however, he began to register what was different. For one, it was warm. Also, his leg no longer ached and there were no stars to be seen. Slowly, apprehensively, he felt for the wrists of the men on either of his sides. _Warm hands_ , he realized, _and steady heartbeats_.

 

“Hello there, Spock,” drawled McCoy’s sleepy voice. “Glad to see you’re finally awake. How’re you feeling?”

 

“A little more tired than usual, doctor, but otherwise I am comfortable. Yourself and the captain?”

 

“We’re fine,” McCoy yawned. “I think Jim’s asleep.”

 

“Am not,” came a disgruntled reply from Spock’s right. “How could I be with all the ruckus you two are making,” Kirk joked. “Spock, good to have you with us again.”

 

“Where are we?” Spock enquired. “A starship, I presume?”

 

“The Helix.” Kirk answered. "We’re bunking together because it’s a tiny ship.”

 

“The crew….?” Spock asked, suddenly remembering the events since the evacuation of the Enterprise.

 

“We lost 28 crewmen,” Kirk replied glumly, “but everyone who evacuated to the planet is accounted for.”

 

A medical scanner whirred to Spock’s left.

 

“Doctor…” he protested.

 

“Lights 50 percent,” McCoy ordered. “Just give me one minute, Spock…I just want to make sure you're ok. Hmm," the doctor mumbled, looking at his scanner, "that’s strange.”

 

“What is it, Bones?” Kirk asked anxiously, sitting up in bed. “Is he alright?”

 

“Yeah, he’s fine, Jim. I’m just surprised… see normally, I would expect a Vulcan to have increased levels of Cortisol and Adrenalin when forced into close physical contact with other people. I was just about to suggest I go sleep on the floor now that Spock’s awake to give him some space, but now I’m wondering if I should take him to sickbay for a check-up instead.”

 

Spock raised an eyebrow. “Quite unnecessary, Doctor,” he said calmly and with as much dignity as he could muster. “Both the check-up and you moving to the floor.”

 

“Oh?” McCoy asked.

 

“I believe I already stated that I am comfortable,” Spock continued unperturbed.

 

McCoy grinned and threw Kirk a wicked glance.

 

“Well, Jim, what do you know. Ever imagined we’d end up in bed with a Vulcan one day?”

 

“Bones,” Kirk sighed, “you’re impossible.”

 

“I assure you Doctor,” Spock rose to the challenge, “it is entirely logical for me to prevent you from sleeping on the floor, for if you did so, you would be certain to complain about it and we would never get any rest.”

 

Kirk laughed. “Touché, Bones. Now, if you two don’t mind, I’d like to get back to sleep. Goodnight.”

 

“Fine,” McCoy grumbled. “Goodnight, Jim. Night, Spock.”

 

“Goodnight,” Spock replied, laying back down between his friends, enjoying their warmth and letting the sound of their beating hearts carry him to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! Is the ending too cheesy? I just love cuddling, haha


End file.
